Introduction
OCR involves teachers in the development of new support materials to capture current teaching practices
tailored to our new specifications. These support materials are designed to inspire teachers and facilitate
different ideas and teaching practices. Each Scheme of Work is provided in Word format – so that you can
use it as a foundation to build upon and amend the content to suit your teaching style and students’ needs.
The Scheme of Work provides examples of how to teach this unit and the teaching hours are suggestions
only. Some or all of it may be applicable to your teaching.
The Specification is the document on which assessment is based and specifies what content and skills
need to be covered in delivering the course. At all times, therefore, this Support Material booklet should be
read in conjunction with the Specification. If clarification on a particular point is sought then that clarification
should be found in the Specification itself.
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GCE Humanities H113 H513
V1
G103: Theme 3
Sample Scheme of Work
GCE Humanities
G103: International and Global Controversies Theme 3: Power, Control and Conflict
Suggested Teaching Time: 15 Hours
Aims of the whole unit
This unit is about analysing the nature of recent global controversies, reviewing evidence from across a range of disciplines which challenges or supports
particular views. The focus is international, with a time frame of the last 25 years.
The unit will develop:
 Candidates’ intellectual curiosity about current global issues
 The skills and attributes of working independently
 The ability to consider different sides of controversies objectively and to select and analyse relevant evidence from across a range of academic
disciplines
 The ability to construct a reasoned argument and reach independent substantiated conclusions
 Essay writing skills to present arguments and findings in a clear, coherent way.
Content of this theme
This theme focuses on some of the most prominent political and economic controversies of recent times: free trade and intervention in conflicts. In order to
approach them in a balanced and rational way, a foundation is required in some key concepts: trade and markets, sovereignty, ethics and justice. Once
students are familiar with these, they can use them to build on their skills of research and analysis of arguments in order to evaluate these appropriately and
propose ways of proceeding in each case.
Teaching this unit
All the topics can be studied with reference to the following key questions:
 What is the current situation?
 Why is this happening?
 What, if any, action needs to be taken?
The unit will contribute especially to the development of Skills 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and the written aspects of Skill 9 listed on page 7.
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GCE Humanities H113 H513
V1
G103: Theme 3
Sample Scheme of Work
GCE Humanities
G103: International and Global Controversies Theme 3: Power, Control and Conflict
The function of expanded content
The specification responds to the key questions, and the expanded content provides resources and prompts for the students to develop the skills of
academic curiosity, independent working, objective analysis from across the range of academic disciplines, reasoned argument and essay writing using
those key questions. The structure is iterative, repeating these skills for each part of the theme and across themes to give students the opportunity to absorb
and retain the required knowledge, and to practice the skills through deliberately organised rehearsal using targeted feedback.
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GCE Humanities H113 H513
V1
G103: Theme 3
Topic
outline
International
trade and its
regulation.
What is
happening?
International
trade and its
regulation.
Why is it
happening?
International
trade and its
regulation –
what (if
anything)
should be
done about
it.
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Page 5 of 8
Suggested teaching and
homework activities
The first step is to establish the operation of
free trade as part of classical economic
theory. This might be done through a game
such as the ‘Limiting Trade’ lesson in the
suggested resources, or the showing and
discussion of a video such as the Open
University’s Open Learn ‘Principle of
Comparative Advantage’. Teachers may find
it helpful to show or give access to some of
the other 1-minute videos in this series.
The concepts of trade and market failure /
intervention are best supported through
selective use of appropriate economics
textbooks, such as Section 3 of OCR AS
Economics.
Having established the enabling conceptual
framework and knowledge base, students
can now use the skills they have built up to
research, present and evaluate competing
arguments. This can be done as preparation
for a formal debate, or perhaps as allocated
presentations on each side of the debate.
Again, some seed sources for whole-class
work, or to get groups underway may well be
helpful here.
A lesson for preparation followed by a lesson
to present or debate would be appropriate
here.
Begin by establishing a starting framework of
knowledge about the WTO and its role. The
BBC article provides a useful resource for
this. The remaining sources are drawn from a
variety of audiovisual and written formats,
and can be evaluated against the evidence
previously collected in order to reach
judgements and proposals.
Suggested resources
Points to note
EdecWeb Economics Lesson, ‘Limiting
Trade’:
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/lessons/fe
oga.htm
The content of this sub-theme requires some specific and direct
teaching of the relevant economic theory before moving on to
exploring and responding to debates, so the suggested activities
aim to build this knowledge first.
Open University, OpenLearn, ‘Principle
of Comparative Advantage’,
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/historythe-arts/culture/philosophy/concepts/60second-adventures-economics-theprinciple-comparative-advantage
Colin Bamford and Susan Grant, OCR
AS Economics (2008)
Actionaid, ‘What’s wrong with free
trade?’:
http://www.actionaid.org.uk/101015/free
_trade.html
The Telegraph, ‘The Future is Free
Trade’, 13 February 2013:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/tel
egraph-view/9867830/The-future-is-freetrade.html
The Economist, Debates, ‘Fair Trade’:
http://www.economist.com/debate/overvi
ew/172
Background to the WTO:
BBC, ‘Profile: The World Trade
Organisation’, 15 February 2012:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/
country_profiles/2429503.stm
Arguments for the WTO:
Journeyman Pictures: ‘The World Trade
Organisation’,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xp7
5Egtvi8
GCE Humanities H113 H513
This final two lessons for the sub-theme incorporates all three
questions in asking students to evaluate alternative solutions to
the problem of free trade and its regulation from two very
different perspectives. These are rooted in the 1999 Seattle
protests against the WTO, but remain very relevant to the
continuing choice to be made between the exponents of
international free trade and those who are discontented with its
consequences.
V1
G103: Theme 3
Topic
outline
Suggested teaching and
homework activities
Suggested resources
Points to note
WTO, ‘WTO at Fifteen’,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iywG
3_EG1c
WTO, ’10 Benefits of the WTO Trading
System’:
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/wh
atis_e/10ben_e/10b00_e.htm
Arguments against the WTO:
John Pilger, ‘The New Rulers of the
World’ (2001):
http://johnpilger.com/videos/the-newrulers-of-the-world -- this documentary is
also very useful for the globalisation
topic within Theme 2.
The nature
and
operation of
international
political
influence
and control.
What is
happening?
Begin by direct teaching of the idea of the
nation and that of sovereignty. One could
start with students’ own definitions of a
country, a nation and ideas of sovereignty
(the Queen as sovereign, etc). Then move on
to some selected materials and resources
from an appropriate politics textbook, such as
sections 2.1 to 2.5 of the A2 OCR textbook
listed in the suggested resources.
Having done this, it would be appropriate to
spend at least one lesson introducing some
key ideas from ethics, particularly
consequentialist and duty-based
(deontological) approaches. The BBC’s
Introduction to Ethics provides some useful
resources. Michael Sandel’s ideas on justice
are also useful here, especially his interview
with Prospect magazine.
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Page 6 of 8
Press Action, ‘Roots of Occupy: The
Battle in Seattle, 1999’, 18 April 2012:
http://www.pressaction.com/news/weblo
g/full_article/mickeyz04182012/ -contains a number of useful links for the
organisations and arguments behind the
protest movement.
Jon Sutherland and Diane Canwell,
OCR A2 Political Ideas and Concepts:
Student Book (Heinemann, 2009)
BBC, Ethics Guide, ‘Introduction to
Ethics’:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/
As with the previous topic, some direct teaching of the key
concepts is necessary before a development of the wider
debate. Here, the essential ideas are the concept of sovereignty
and also the contrasting ethical approaches used by different
sides of the debate.
Nigel Warburton, ‘Interview: Michael
Sandel on Justice’, Prospect Magazine
January 21 2011:
http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/mag
azine/interview-michael-sandel-onjustice-bbc4-justice-citizens-guide/
Justice: A Citizen’s Guide to the 21st
Century:
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whatson/ou-on-the-bbc-justice-citizens-guideGCE Humanities H113 H513
V1
G103: Theme 3
Topic
outline
The nature
and
operation of
international
political
influence
and control.
Why is it
happening
and what (if
anything)
should be
done about
it.
Suggested teaching and
homework activities
The initial concepts can then be applied to a
specific case study, preferably a recent one.
Here is a potential sequence:
1) If required, show a recent or
contemporary news report in order to
establish overall context.
2) Use some sources such as those in
the suggested resources to establish
the debate, reading them together in
class.
3) Evaluate the arguments against the
concepts of sovereignty and justice
(including consequentialist and
deontological approaches to justice)
previously established.
4) Students then research the case
study themselves, finding further
arguments on each side
(exemplifying both justifications and
the effectiveness of intervention) and
evaluate them in the same way.
5) Students present their findings along
with their own supported judgements
on whether intervention would be
justified or effective.
Suggested resources
the-21st-century (a useful documentary
by Sandel outlining his justice-based
introduction to ethics -- check this link
for when the programme is next
available on the BBC)
Seumas Milne, ‘Intervention in Syria
risks blowback and regional war’, The
Guardian, 19 December 2012:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfre
e/2012/dec/19/intervention-syria-alqaida-blowback
Anne-Marie Slaughter, ‘Syrian
Intervention is justifiable, and just’,
Washington Post, 9 June 2012:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinion
s/syrian-intervention-is-justifiable-andjust/2012/06/08/gJQARHGjOV_story.ht
ml
Points to note
The specification lists a number of possible justifications and
reasons for the effectiveness of interventions, as well as a
number of examples of recent interventions. Having established
the key ideas from political philosophy and ethics, an effective
way of identifying, analysing and evaluating these may be to
research a specific, familiar case study and use it to list and
assess the arguments on each side. When choosing a case
study, the most useful approach would be to select one that is as
current in the news as possible, which will restrict the amount of
historical instruction required. For this reason, the sample
resources here are all from the debate over whether to intervene
in the conflict in Syria.
Speakers’ Corner Trust, ‘The Ethics of
Intervention – Human Rights, National
Sovereignty and the Balance of Risk’:
http://www.speakerscornertrust.org/5166
/the-ethics-of-intervention-human-rightsnational-sovereignty-and-the-balance-ofrisk/ (generalises the debate helpfully
using a number of examples)
Homework (using this case study): Write an
essay answering the question: ‘Would
intervention in Syria be justified?’ using the
framework and feedback from previous essay
writing.
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GCE Humanities H113 H513
V1
G103: Theme 3
Topic
outline
Exam
practice
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Page 8 of 8
Suggested teaching and
homework activities
Some directed teaching about exam
technique and timing could take place at this
stage (analysing questions, mapping
answers with key facts and sequencing,
timing writing) and students can also produce
revision notes for all topics in the theme. A
timed mock examination with a selection of
questions targeting different parts of the
theme could then follow.
Suggested resources
GCE Humanities H113 H513
Points to note
V1
G103: Theme 3